How many Deadheads are here?

[richbass939]

Stanley .. Alembic .........(30 years) ..........buy an Alembic, then another Alembic .. (1 year) .. jam Dead with club member .. (1 year) .. play Dead gig with same club member.  
I have always been aware of the Dead phenomenon and their music but I wish I had really investigated them much earlier in my time playing bass.  It is fun stuff to play.
Rich

[2400wattman]

Yes Keith, I know what you mean. The last time I broke a G string at the ball I was told that'll be fity buks.  
 
 Dave, file your bridge bro, cough,cough,cou......gh, wheeeeeeezzze.  
That was the Punch Rothschild not the other stuff.

[terryc]

Stan the Man...seen him on UK TV show 'Old grey whistle test', didn't recognise bass(not a fender or gibson..what is it?)
Bought'School Days' cover notes 'Alembic basses', wished for one from 1976 to 1998(22 years) MK standard bought in New York whilst I was on holiday from Rudy's Music Stop for $1800(a bargain)
Brought it back, was offered ?2000(sterling) as someone collared me in the pub after seeing me gig it..no sale mate..waited too long for one.

[jacko]

Although I'm a huge fan of the dead, I'd never given any thought to their equipment. Same with Stanley; I've been a fan of his since schooldays came out in '76. In fact, the only bass I ever coveted was a rick 4001 as Chris Squire played on and he's the one that turned me onto bass playing in 1974.
I ended up with my epic after several weeks of auditioning every 'boutique' instrument I could afford in 1996. It says something when Alembic's entry level instrument can wipe the floor with top of the range Warwicks and pre-gibson tobias'.
 
Graeme

[ajdover]

Grateful who?
 
Not a Deadhead.  In fact, I've never gotten the whole Dead thing.  Same way I never got the whole Phish thing, or Dave Matthews thing.  Never been a Dead Head, never will be.
 
I came to Alembic through Stanley, John Alec Entwistle, and Greg Lake.  
 
Alan

[keavin]

I'm more of a Deadbeat dad than a Dead head!...LOL!

[alembic76407]

I wasn't a dead fan, but a bass playing friend was and he showed up one night with a $2000.00 bass he had just bought, (this was in 1976) I had to ask what kind of drugs he was on to pay 2 grand for a bass, he let me play it all night and the next day I went to a music store and they had 2 Alembic instock, and when I left, they only had 1 in stock. that was 7-2-76 I loaded up my $2000.00 in to my $200 Karmann Ghia rag top with the top down, it looked like I was hauling a surfboard and the rest is history
 
David T

[phylo]

I spent Friday and Saturday with the Dark Star Orchestra.  And drove 360 miles RT to Portland to do so.

[jubeas3eyes]

I was searching around for a new bass after my Warwick broke (ungh that sucked and its a long story. I HATE music123.com) and found a couple alembics on ebay. I then found the site and my face exploded when I saw the price. After my face was reassembled I promptly bought one.

[cozmik_cowboy]

Deadhead?  Oh, yeah - though not what you'd call hardcore (I never drove more than 700 miles for a show. )  And Alan, the first instrument I ever bought was a Winston P-bass copy ($75 w/a Paris combo amp.)  To mention Dave Matthews in an explaination of why you're not a Deadhead is akin to my saying I really don't get the fuss about Alembic, and I didn't get the Winston, either. The difference is that great.
When Garcia died, Dylan said There are a lot of spaces between Buddy Holly and the Carter Family and, say, Ornette Coleman.  Somehow he managed to fill them all.  That pretty much extrapolates to the band as a whole, and that's what it was about for me - what Mickey Hart called using a rock lexicon with a jazz syntax.  But, ulitmately it's like the Harley t-shirt says - If I need to explain it....... me, I got it, and one of the great joys of my life is that I was able to be present for the creation of that magic on multiple occasions.
 
Peter

[tom_z]

Right on, Peter! I got it too and it changed my musical life. I miss the Grateful Dead!  
 
Bill hit it on the head - and Adam picked up on it. The Grateful Dead thing is about the LIVE performance. At their worst the Dead were a very professional improvisational rock band. At their best they were a true force of nature - Pure Magic!
 
It's probably not really any different than any aesthetic experience that sends you. It's difficult to write about what it is technically that causes the magic. I'm thankful to have experienced the Grateful Dead phenomenon.
 
By the way - I don't see that's it's come up in this thread, but, in case anyone was wondering, it wasn't entirely about the drugs either. I've seen many Dead shows completely sober and the magic was absolutely as palpable as when I was in an altered state.  
 
It's just really cool to me that the origins of Alembic are entwined with the history of the Grateful Dead and that spirit of creativeness and innovation in art and life.  
 
Peace
Tom

[phylo]

Sorry, but I felt the need to chime in again.  In 1992, I drove from Portland to Oakland, in December, to see 2 shows.  Drove back up to take a final and then back down the next day for 2 more shows.  And only one car got totalled in the process!

[lbpesq]

Peter:
 
I'd never heard that quote by Mickey before, but I wasn't surprised to read it.  For years I've described Dead music as a jazz approach using rock 'n roll tools.
 
Bill, tgo

[57basstra]

I feel a good deal of Bluegrass in the Grateful Dead's music. Sometimes when I hear (or am playing with) a really kickin' Bluegrass group that goes jammin' I think, 'Man, this is really kinda Dead.'

[dadabass2001]

uhhh...43?
    (counting me)
Mike
 
P.S. yeah, I only went to about six shows, but I loved them all.